Barely a fortnight has passed since the Chhatisgarh sterlisation botch-up , where 13 women lost their lives, but neighboring Odisha does not seem to have learnt a lesson from the tragedy.

Barely a fortnight has passed since the Chhatisgarh sterlisation botch-up , where 13 women lost their lives, but neighboring Odisha does not seem to have learnt a lesson from the tragedy.

A doctor used a bicycle pump to inflate the abdomen of 56 women while conducting laparoscopic tuberctomy during a sterilisation camp in Angul district, officials said on Sunday.

A medical assistant holds the cycle pump which was allegedly used in the surgery. (Arabinda Mahapatra/HT photo)

The camp was held at Banarpal village of the district, about 150 km from Bhubaneswar on friday. The doctor, Mahesh Prasad Rout, said that the practice of using bicycle pump in laparoscapic tubectomy – a surgical procedure women undergo for permanent contraception – was not new.

“Bicycle pumps are used frequently during sterilisation in camps in rural areas that lack sophisticated surgical equipments used for inflating the abdomen,” said Rout.

Rout's method triggered protests in the area, with locals backed by BJP workers ransacking the hospital where the operations were done.

State health secretary Arti Ahuja said the chief district medical officer had been asked to make an inquiry on the sterilization camp and submit a report in a week. “Further action will be taken accordingly,” she said.

According to doctors, normally insufflators are used in laparoscapy to pump carbon dioxide gas into the abdomen of women for regulating gas pressure during the operation.

But insufflators are not available in many hospitals, so bicycle pumps come as a substitute. “The pipe and nozzle tip of the pump is sterilised before use,” Rout said.

Rout is claimed to have performed over 60,000 laparoscopic tubectomy in the last 10 years without facing problems. He has received awards for his achievements.